Geosciences
Geosciences (also called Earth Sciences) involve the exploration and the study of the Earth. This includes geology, which is dedicated, on the one hand, to the structure and composition of the earth’s crust, the earth’s hard “shell”. On the other hand, geology also involves studying the properties of the rocks and their formation as well as the processes occurring in the earth’s crust.
Join us on a journey through depth and time!
Take a probe to travel to a depth of 5000 metres and discover the geology of Northern Switzerland. Click on the screen and the journey begins!
See “Geology of Switzerland” and “Rocks” to learn about the composition of Switzerland’s underground. With the Jura Mountains, the Swiss Plateau and the Northern, Central and Southern Alps, Switzerland boasts an interesting and varied geology.
Nagra investigates the underground of Northern Switzerland
Nagra’s aim is to determine the most suitable site for a deep geological repository in Northern Switzerland. To this end, it applies numerous methods to investigate the rock formations, including seismic measurements, deep boreholes and Quaternary boreholes.
Additional experiments and rock sample analyses are carried out at the Grimsel Test Site and Mont Terri Rock Laboratory as well as in conventional laboratories.
The Opalinus Clay, the rock that will eventually host the repository, is of particular interest. When assessing the long-term safety of a deep geological repository, we can learn a lot from so-called natural analogues.
The following Nagra publications also provide many interesting facts about geology:
Cover photo: Boris Baldinger